Class Warfare Got Nexon'd
by JStarPye
Summary: Maplestory has been Nexon'd once again, and this time no one is coming out unscathed...with the exception of Mercedes, Phantom, and Aidan. Rated T for mild to heavy cursing.
1. It Started with the Cygnus Knights

Class Warfare Got Nexon'd

Chapter One: It Started with the Cygnus Knights

**Summary: **Maplestory has been Nexon'd once again, and this time no one is coming out unscathed...with the exception of Mercedes, Phantom, and Aidan. Rated T for mild to heavy cursing.

**Author's Note: **Hello, this is an idea brought out from the fact that Nexon completely messed up the names of the characters, so it's a body swapping story~

**Disclaimer:** Maplestory belongs to Nexon.

It started with the Cygnus Knights.

Neinheart ran outside of his office to discover Hawkeye smashing trees even when the sun hadn't risen up. The noise disturbed the other Chief Knights. Mihile stormed across the forest to smack the Thunder upside his head. Both of them quickly resorted to fist fighting each other. The advisor attempted to break them up without being broken himself. Suddenly, two fireballs flew dangerously near the trio as it hit the grass, causing a wild fire.

Several hours of yelling and firefighting later, Neinheart angrily strode back and forth across the burnt vegetation. Three of the Cygnus Knights were lined up. Mihile looked guilty onto the ground while Hawkeye bore a nonchalant expression. Oz had her hood down extremely low, covering her eyes.

"So, is there a reasonable explanation to why you were beating the snot out of each other?" the blue haired man seethed at the Dawn Warrior and Thunder Breaker. They were normally on good terms with one another, even going as far as "friends". However, they shouldn't be this ridiculous; especially when it was currently six in the morning!

Oz responded instead, "Would you believe me if I said they aren't who they seem?"

Neinheart whipped his head to the Blaze Wizard, then snapped back to the other knights.

"You see, it's not in Hawkeye's nature to wake up early, yet alone train on trees. He would use weights instead. With Mihile, he would never strike an ally, no matter how close he is to them," Oz explained calmly. The advisor pondered on this idea, being the skeptical man he was. Well, it did make sense…but coming from Oz… Neinheart's eyes immediately popped out. Once again, he turned toward the mage. _Oz, making sense?!_

"…Then may I assume you're not Oz?"

Oz, or whoever that was, nodded their head, "I'm Eckhart. And judging by the previous actions, Irena is in Mihile's body whereas Aran is in Hawkeye's."

Neinheart blinked several, processing the information. He then sighed in relief. Good thing the knights weren't turning insane.

"Well, that leaves the question of who is residing in Eckhart and my body," Irena pointed out, regaining her composure from the initial shock.

"You should ask yourself what people you know could sleep through a blow between two powerful knights and a forest fire," Eckhart confided. Irena paused for a while, before her pupils widened.

"Oh no no no no…!" she quickly ran in the direction of her own quarters. Neinheart was about to follow, but was stopped by the Night Walker.

"I suggest not going near, for what's about to happen-"

A scream pierced the sky, echoing across Ereve.

Aran viewed the cabin the Wind Archer headed off to, "Huh. She found Hawkeye."

Irena came back to the premises hauling her own body and Eckhart's, gently placing them against unscarred trees.

"I can't believe they didn't wake up from that…" she said in exasperation. Eckhart disappeared and reappeared with a bundle of grass, burning the tips and dragging the smoke through each sleeping person's nose. Irena's body was the first to stir. They yawned and stopped midway, examining the looming knights. They gave a surprised shout, rousing the other person.

The ladder stared groggily at the four people, "uuuuuuh-"

"Who are you dudes? Because that's obviously not me," Irena's body asked, eyeing Aran in Hawkeye's body.

"Think again moron," the Wind Archer said, indicating the green hair. Hawkeye looked dumbfounded, before inspecting the body. His face flushed seconds later, mouth wide open.

"Holy crap I'm a chick!"

"Yes, good job figuring that out," Irena said, clearly irritated, "Now do you know who that is?"

"Uh, Eckhart?"

"I'm right here."

"Whoa! You became a chick too!?"

At this point, Neinheart was ready to face palm. There are no leads to why everyone swapped bodies and they don't even know who is in Eckhart's body. Speaking of Eckhart's body…

"Hey, guys…" they spoke up, "what am I doing here?"

"You switched bodies with the Chief Knight of Darkness," Irena replied, "Who are you?"

"Switching bodies? That's cool. I'm Tin. And this is a pretty sweet body!" the Cannoneer exclaimed, studying the intricate patterns on Eckhart's gloves. Neinheart and Irena were taken slightly aback by the reaction. Normal people would panic instantly. The advisor sighed once more, taking out a small blue cell phone.

"I'm going to make some house calls. You guys behave, especially **you** Aran," he barked, "I don't want any of you wandering off and disturbing the rest of the populace. Stay put and wait for my orders."


	2. It's Royal Smashing Time

Class Warfare Got Nexon'd

Chapter Two: It's Royal Smashing Time

**Summary:**Maplestory has been Nexon'd once again, and this time no one is coming out unscathed...with the exception of Mercedes, Phantom, and Aidan. Rated T for mild to heavy cursing.

**Disclaimer: **Maplestory belongs to Nexon.

* * *

Mercedes had gotten up bright and early, only to find the rest of the Heroes resting. The group was currently residing on the Lumiere. They were given limited options as of now. Striking the Black Wing's headquarters would be rash. Evan is only getting the hang of carrying the burden of being Freud's successor. Luminous can barely control his darker half, becoming more of a hindrance than an advantage. Even Phantom shook his head at the thought of bursting into dangerous territory firing up the area. Plus the Heroe's pledge with the Alliance forces them to stay out of battles until orders are given. The Queen rubbed her temples. She could barely relax nowadays, with the knowledge that the Black Mage could strike her city at any given time. A sudden waft of baked pastry reached her nose. _This may be a fine time to reenergize myself_ Mercedes contemplated. She quickly washed her face and strode out of the fancy bedroom.

The dome window of the waist deck was bathed in a soft light as Mercedes entered the area. Already there was a fine marble table set up with a breakfast set in the center of the room. She spotted Gaston pouring tea into delicate cups.

"Good morning Gaston," the archer hero greeted.

"As to you Miss Mercedes, I hope the room was appropriate enough for your royal status," the butler asked.

"Of course," Mercedes replied as she took a piece of toast and spread a thin layer of strawberry jam. Gaston offered her the tea, in which she accepted graciously. The elf seated herself comfortably onto the cream colored chair. About a minute later, Phantom strode into the area with a newspaper. He sighed loudly. Mercedes ignored him, indulging in her carbohydrates. He sighed once more, a little too dramatically this time. She didn't even turn around. He was about to attempt a third time, when Gaston interrupted the thief.

"Master, if I may suggest consuming a jolly good dose of common sense and directly approaching Miss Mercedes rather than depleting your lungs with all that moaning."

Phantom smirked, "oh, Gaston. Must you ruin the fun?"

He did listen to the advice however and walked toward the elf. Immediately the queen knew the thief hero was looking for trouble and mischief.

"How are you my mistress, I see you're being rather grumpy today," Phantom teased.

She shot him a look, "I don't know what you are planning, but something's definitely up. I don't like it one bit."

He waved his hands in defense, "Oh my! Such an accusation from a queen. I'm very hurt right now."

Mercedes was going to give Phantom the glare down of his life when Luminous burst out of his room.

"Whooooooooooa!" he shouted out with wonder. Mercedes stared at the man in confusion. Has the magician of light finally snapped from the darker half inside of him? Phantom though watched Luminous with amusement as he jumped from the red carpeted stairs and fell headfirst instead. Luminous noticed the duo, and scrambled up off the marble floor to run toward them.

"This is super-duper awesome!" he exclaimed. Mercedes then unexpectedly realized that this was not Luminous, no matter how twisted and crazy the hero may descend to.

"I can't believe I'm on Phantom's ship! Man I've heard stories of you guys, but I didn't think you'd be alive," he excitedly blabbered on. Now Phantom was the one to give Luminous a quizzical look. Who doesn't know that the Heroes were back? Aliens from another world?

"And may I ask who you are? You do not seem to be the sulking bipolar magician we love."

"Of course you can! I am the amazing Kaiser, here to save my world from the forces of evil," Kyle pumped out his chest. Mercedes had heard rumors about this Kaiser, a "hero" of the Nova race that recently joined the Alliance. Now her mind was even more jumbled.

"What are you doing in Luminous's body? How did this even happen?" she asked. The elf was currently trying to not have a panic attack. She did not enjoy it when things occur without her awareness. The boy shrugged.

"How could you not know why you're in Luminous's body? Events like these do not happen out of the blue! Is Luminous is in your body then?" the queen nearly cried out. All different horrific scenarios ran through her mind. What if they stayed like this forever? What if this happened to her too? What if-

Mercedes picked up a strange vibration in her ears. Phantom pulled out a white phone and looked at the collar ID.

"If you will excuse me, I have business to take care of. You ladies have a fine conversation while I'm gone, alright?" before Mercedes could protest, Phantom left the room. She was abandoned to observe Kaiser treat himself to the laid out breakfast. Mercedes held in an exasperated breath. _What a troublesome morning, _she thought grimly.

* * *

"Yes…is this Phantom…?" the rough voice asked.

"Well, you did call my phone number. I'm going to assume it's me. Why the hesitation?" Phantom almost sounded giddy. He couldn't wait to hear the news the advisor was going to tell him.

There was a pause from the other line until it spoke again, "Okay…so it might be just us Cygnus Knights…"

The master thief prodded with curiosity, "What's going on with the puppy knights? Have you finally given them a holiday vacation?"

"…," an even longer moment of time was used up, "this morning, some of our knights have switched bodies with others from the Alliance, and I was wondering if you had any individuals that were unusually strange."

"Neinheart, I would have assumed of this as a prank. But given your rather uptight attitude and our situation, I'll take your word. We have a fellow named Kaiser that is in Luminous's body."

"Alright. I don't know why you weren't affected, but gather your allies that have been and report to an emergency Alliance meeting. I need to see if anyone is thinking of sabota-"

BOOM! BANG! BOOM!

Several crashes could be heard from the waist deck. The thief hero instantly dashed toward the source of the earsplitting noises. He opened the door only for ashes and rubble to be blown into his face. Phantom inhaled the spreading smoke, violently coughing it out of his systems.

"Phantom! What in the world is going on-"

"Sorry Neinheart, but I believe I have to tend to a cat fight," with that, he ended the call. The thundering sounds started again, in the direction of the ship's deck. Phantom pulled out his cane for the worst as the racket got louder and louder.

Floating midair was Kaiser spewing an ominous black from his hands. Mercedes already had her dual crossbows out, ready for action. Phantom quietly snuck up to the bowman.

"Where are my workers?" Phantom hissed at the elf.

She responded, "They're safe, I knew something was unnerving when he began talking to himself."

Kyle cackled, illuminating bloodshot eyes, "Beware my power! I, Kaiser, have achieved greatness. I shall now take over this pathetic ship. Next will be Pantheon and the entire world! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

Before Phantom or Mercedes could even move a muscle, a flying dragon burst through the entrance, carrying with it Evan. The queen viewed closely, and saw Evan and Mir oozing black aura as well.

"Oh my...," Mercedes' breath got caught in her throat. As Kaiser and Luminous clashed in the air, she saw how ferocious and bloodthirsty both of them were. Kaiser flew by with an eerie screech, slicing through the armor. The dragon master's visage was full of hunger and rage. Mir's expression matched his master's, propelling a stream of black fire. Luminous was already chilling enough when he was in control. But to have not one, but two overwhelming forces of darkness…ravenous for power…her entire body quivered. The elf's whole body tensed when Phantom squeezed her shoulder.

"Oh my is right. Now let's not falter and get this over with," Phantom met with Mercedes' eyes, desperately searching for the once courageous queen of elves. She could only nod slightly. They both jumped into the fray, neutralizing the dark energies of the consumed victims.

* * *

Phantom lay panting, noting the aftermath. Kaiser and Luminous were tranquilized while Mir collapsed from the extreme output of dark magic. Mercedes leaned on the side of the Lumiere, which sustained a lot of burns and holes. In all honestly, he did not think fighting two Luminous' would be so…frightening. The constant emission of darkness threating to devour one's soul would definitely shake the bravest warriors to the core. He would never admit that, of course. An abrupt strike of pain jabbed his ribs and he buckled to the charred floor. He picked up hurried footsteps from the waist deck. Aran appeared at the scene with a look of horror etched onto their face.

"Heh, look who finally showed up…" Phantom murmured before losing consciousness.


	3. Can We Leave the House Yet

Class Warfare Got Nexon'd

Chapter Three: Can We Leave the House Yet?

**Summary: **Maplestory has been Nexon'd once again, and this time no one is coming out unscathed...with the exception of Mercedes, Phantom, and Aidan. Rated T for mild to heavy cursing.

**Author's Note: **Okay, I promise this story will be more comedy than angst and feely. Because I always like putting some deep, aggravating emotion between characters (Haha, maybe I'll write another story once I wrap this one up~).

**Disclaimer:**Maplestory belongs to Nexon.

* * *

When Phantom cracked open his eyes, a blinding red color pierced his pupils. A terrible pounding thumped in the man's head. The blond quickly squeezed his eyes, letting out a small groan. His body, however, sighed with content as he lay on rather plush material. Phantom didn't expect to be on his lush cream mattress. He attempted a second try to see, only for a giant pole arm to take up the thief's vision. Phantom stiffened and immediately winced. His whole body ached with internal injuries. He could only stare in bewilderment as Maha's body slowly generated into a visible glowing spirit.

"I know I'm attractive, but please respect my personal space," Phantom croaked out. The spirit scoffed.

"Says the grown man moaning like a small child. My mast- Evan had to carry you out of that blasted mess of a deck along with all the other unconscious people."

Phantom inclined his non-injured neck, "So you already realized some people have exchanged physical bodies."

"Of course. My master would never trip over sheets, and get stuck in them! How does someone even do that?" While Maha rambled on about Evan's incompetencies, Gaston popped out of the entrance. He quickly motioned Phantom outside. The thief gave the butler a sour look before replacing a body pillow onto his original spot. The pole arm was too invested in making fun of Evan, so it was easier for the blond to sneak toward the gold embroidered door. He slumped onto the wall as he exited the ornate room. By this time his body was kicking and screaming, having been through enough rough housing for a week.

"Gaston, if you have recovered from that earlier sparse, could you hand me a glass of water?" the thief hero asked. The Lumiere's deck could be fixed later.

"Making such remarks two minutes after waking up, I consider that a world record sir."

Phantom's visage deadpanned, "I do not believe sassing the master was your job."

"It came with the job sir. Anything else I may offer my services to?"

Phantom chuckled. He was glad to have such an entertaining old man.

"Yes, certainly Gaston. Double check on the V. to ensure my ship gets obliterated no further," the thief ran his hand through the tangled blond locks, "and fetch me a comb. I need to look not so haggish when I arrive to Ereve."

The butler nodded and left, leaving Phantom resting on the wall. No more than a minute later, Evan ran out of one of the corridors to the man. The boy inhabited Aran's tall, bulky body, making his gait a bit awkward. Evan crouched clumsily in front of Phantom.

"Mr. Phantom, you should get back to bed! Everyone is still sleeping and really hurt," Evan didn't look directly into the thief's face. Instead the boy averted his attention to the brown pastel wall, lip quivering.

"I'm so sorry! I should have been there to help; by the time I got there everyone was-"

"Evan. Look at me."

The Dragon Master reluctantly agreed and gazed at Phantom. His cyan eyes were a blotchy red, contrasting against dark skin. The boy had obviously been crying. The thief sighed. The man's hand stretched out to pat out the messy silver hair.

"Don't cry with Aran's face. It's creepy," Phantom softly chided. Evan tried to protest, but stopped himself midway. No use in hiding the obvious; got to move forward now. He ferociously rubbed off the remaining tears on his face.

"Here then, let me help you back to bed!" before the older man could utter out a syllable, Evan lifted him up bridal style. Phantom's face was contorted with a mix of exasperation and embarrassment, which didn't even add to the throbbing pain in his muscles. Evan had a giddy expression on.

"I know Aran is strong, but being able to pick Mr. Phantom up like this…I'm pretty darn jealous," the boy stated.

"Place me in my original position boy, that area was quite comfortable," the thief said with tension in his voice. The great thief Phantom, reduced to a princess in an adolescent boy's arms! Oh how Aria would have laughed at such a scene.

_Aria…_

"Oh my! I'm sorry to have interrupted such an intimate moment," Phantom's delusional thoughts were broken when Gaston came back with the water and comb.

"…Don't be silly Gaston. You took too long so I called Evan here to bring me to my belongings," Phantom blurted out uneasily. The thief was going to strangle both Gaston and Evan when he recovered.

"Yes master, I believe you," the butler responded sarcastically, "And while you're at it Mister Evan, could you retrieve the pole arm? He still hasn't tired of talking yet."

Gaston opened the door, and instantly Maha's voice pounded the group's ears. The spirit turned toward them.

"Oh. Hey brat, what do you have in your arms? A life sized Phantom doll? He's clearly in his bed…," The pole arm pulled off the white covers, only for a body pillow to appear where the thief was supposed to be, "HUH?! When did this happen!?"

Phantom's eye twitched, resisting the urge to face palm. The impulse rose higher as he heard a wild roar from one of the rooms. The screaming got even louder as it approached the thief's room. Kaiser popped in, silver locks of hair covering his heterochromatic eyes. Evan struggled to quiet the obnoxious duo as Phantom was released and ushered into his bed by Gaston.

"You really expect me to relax now?" the master inquired to his butler. The elder shrugged.

"No sir, but I expect you to not participate in the commotion."

It wasn't even two minutes before Mercedes limped into the room and demanded everyone to be silent. This then proceeded with a three way shouting match. In the end, it was Evan who plucked the trio right off their feet and strolled out of the room, the earsplitting cries fading away. Gaston waited for the noises to become nonexistent and closed the door, not before setting the glass of water and comb down on the blond man's ornate table. Phantom exhaled in relief. He's surrounded by nincompoops! The thief took a refreshing sip out of the glass. He pulled out his phone to check the time and immediately wished he didn't. It was ten o' clock, two hours gone by since the internal skirmish. Thirty missed text messages and calls from Nienheart appeared on his screen. The man screeched silently.

* * *

"And just what took you fools so long? All the other Alliance members have arrived," Cygnus's advisor seethed accusingly at the group of malfunctioning heroes. They had just stepped onto the wet grass of Ereve in a flurry of cards when Nienheart arrived and shoved the five people toward the Alliance dome.

Phantom grimaced, "Don't even go there Nienheart. You didn't have to deal with two dark-infused crazies-"

"I'm not crazy!"

"Crazy, nuts, psycho, same thing," the master thief waved off Kaiser's objection. The blue haired man crossed his arms, still extremely irritated at the group.

"Well hurry up! Empress Cygnus is about to speak," the advisor stated, leading them to a large opening in the trees into a large gray dome.

"I hope this situation gets solved as efficiently as possible," Mercedes confided in Luminous. He nodded. Though as hopeful as the elf, the former light mage became wary of the future events to come.


	4. Blame the Name Game

Class Warfare Got Nexon'd

Chapter Four: Blame the Name Game

**Summary: **Maplestory has been Nexon'd once again, and this time no one is coming out unscathed...with the exception of Mercedes, Phantom, and Aidan. Rated T for mild to heavy cursing.

**Author's Note**: Okay, I did mention in the summary there were going to be swear words but haven't come up yet (I don't remember OTL). Well now they are a couple of really bad ones (Hawkeye cough cough) so beware!

**Disclaimer: **Maplestory belongs to Nexon.

* * *

As the heroes reached the area, Luminous noted the chairs were rearranged to form a wide circle. Neinheart quickly thrust each of the heroes into red seats. The advisor was correct when he said the heroes were the last to arrive. Angelic Buster was brooding in her chair, everyone else standing a very clear distance away. The Battle Mage was affectionately petting the Wild Hunter's jaguar, Canoneer was inspecting the explosives inside the canon, Kaiser was checking their eyelashes in a compact mirror, and most of the members just looked completely out of it. Empress Cygnus came up to a sculptured stand on a stone platform. She cleared her throat and everyone became quiet.

"A-as you all have experienced and heard, there has been a concoction that switches bodies with another person. We the Cygnus Knights have no details about it. So for now, we should identify who is in whose body," the Empress announced. Murmurs of agreement erupted from the crowd and then shushed by the Dual Blader.

"To remember each other better, we're going to play a name game as instructed by Neinheart. He will explain the details of the activity," the adolescent stepped off the stage, replaced with the older man.

Neinheart pushed his monocle up, "Before anyone objects to such a silly game, I shall tell you this will not only identify the victims or culprits of this prank-"

"Yea, no one wants to call Demon Slayer 'Angel' the rest of their lives!"

A few snickers arose in the conference area and Neinheart glared at the direction the rather girly voice came from. Hawkeye, in Irena's body, was doubled over in silent laughter. If looks could kill, there would be a hundred daggers sticking in the Thunder Breaker's body. The Wind Archer was next to him, obviously refraining from hitting her own body.

"Could you stop from saying anymore senseless things with my voice?" She hissed. Hawkeye grinned sheepishly, "My bad Irene. Continue Neinheart. I'm done with the side comments, I swear!"

The blue-haired man gave the universal sign of 'I'm watching you like a hawk' before starting where he left off.

"…victims or culprits of this prank, but to have a…bonding time…by the suggestion of Empress Cygnus. When you call your name, you have to put an adjective before your actual name. My name would be nodding Neinheart. Everyone would repeat the name with a greeting. The next person will have to repeat the previous person's name and their own. The process is continued by the third person. Be warned, the game will take longer to progress as you HAVE to say everyone's name before yours."

A collective groan erupted from the older members. Neinheart banged the stand for order.

"I know it will be tedious, but remember the reason! And please," Neinheart snuck a look at the little girl behind him, "have...fun with this. We will start with Empress Cygnus and go around clockwise."

"Oh come on!" the Chief Night Walker stood up and raged. He was near the end of the circle. People near the man also became dejected. Hawkeye laughed bitterly, "At least you're not DEAD last."

"Mr. Tin, get back to your seat," Neinheart growled. He immediately sat down with a shout of 'yes sir!' The advisor gestured Cygnus to start.

"Hi, my name is cheerful Cygnus. Nice to meet you all!" she curtsied.

"Hello cheerful Cygnus," the whole group said monotonously.

Neinheart hit the stand once more, "Say it with more enthusiasm, as if you're really excited to see her! Don't make me make you run laps around Ereve!"

"Hello cheerful Cygnus!" they repeated in higher volume.

* * *

As the game was going on, Evan looked around the open grass area. A giant tree grew behind him, indicating the edge of the Alliance Hall. A couple of chairs were unoccupied. He turned to his chair buddy and nudged the black-clad man. The boy froze. The Demon Slayer's face rotated toward him. The successor never met the man personally, but from what Mercedes has mentioned in the past (with venom in her voice) that he was a bad man even though he joined the Resistance. Goosebumps rose on his tan arms. It didn't help that Aran wore so little material.

"U-u-uh s-sorry Mr. D-demon Slayer-" Evan stammered. Instead of the usual frown Evan expected, the Demon Slayer gave a warm smile.

"Don't worry. I'm not scary at all! In fact, I'm actually Luka, the Battle Mage," he explained. Evan relaxed a little. Luka then noticed the multiple spots forming on Evan's arm. He chuckled softly.

"Oh my, are you cold? I guess you can't help it Evan. Aran really should wear warmer clothes," the Battle Mage chided. The Dragon Master laughed too, albeit a bit more nervously. Luka reminded him of his mother; which was disturbing in a nostalgic, tender way.

"Ahem," Evan jumped a little as the advisor of Ereve disturbed his thoughts. He scanned the circle and saw everyone's eyes were on him. The silver haired gulped, becoming self-conscious of the fact that he wasn't listening at all.

"It's your turn. Go get them!" Luka encouraged him. Evan didn't feel his confidence rise at all. Neinheart crossed his arms, half-expecting the successor of Freud to answer.

_Please, I don't want to look like a fool right now_ Evan prayed to whoever was listening up in the heavens. Cygnus was giving him a look of pure hope! What should he do?

The tree above the boy rustled. A flash of gray flew past his eyes. Evan followed the trajectory and found a throwing knife wedged too close to his right thigh.

"Ah!" in shock, he flipped the chair backwards, sending him skull first into a tree. A collective gasp went off as Luka rushed to his side. Evan's eyes were spinning, but he could hear the worry in his voice. He focused his attention to the branches above. Up there, the Chief Blaze Wizard was sitting and pointed at the star. On closer inspection, a paper was in between the knife and chair. Evan reached for it and opened the document. On it were all the names of the Alliance members with their adjectives. He grinned widely.

"Thanks Ms. Oz!" he said. Luka tilted his head to the trees and shouted in surprise. The rest of the Alliance spotted the Blaze Wizard. Some jumped while others fell out of their chairs like Evan.

"When did you get there?!" Angelic Buster gawked, who was in Kaiser's body.

"I was there the whole time. And I'm eager Eckhart."

"Eager Eckhart? Yea, eager to scare the living daylights out of people!"

Neinheart slammed the stand with a hammer, "Everyone quiet! And it's not your turn Eckhart."

Eckhart shrugged and adjusted his position on the branches. Evan cleared his throat. He took out the paper and read.

"Er, cheerful Cygnus, mild Mihile, outrageous Oz, vigilant Valfor, kingly Kaiser, adorable Angelic Buster, killer Kim, magnificent Mercedes, persuasive Phantom, bilingual Belle, and my name is evolving Evan-"

"Hey I call foul!" Tin shouted. Neinheart breathed through his nose, obviously not wanting to deal with the situation.

"I didn't say anything about not being allowed to use paper. However," he stepped off stage and walked toward the boy. The advisor gestured for the paper. Evan gave it to him obediently as Neinheart pocketed the paper within his white cape, "this will be the first and last time it will be used."

The bluenette marched off, not before giving the tree behind Evan a death glare.

* * *

The game, as the advisor predicted, progressed extremely slowly. Most of the Alliance had messed up after the Dragon Master. Evan's eyes were threating to close. Cygnus was already dozing on the advisor's back. It was 10:35 (according to Belle) but it felt like hours. It finally got to the last person. Everyone silently sighed in relief.

"YES! I'm going to end this off with an amazing feat of saying it the fastest," Hawkeye stood up and posed.

"Get it over with Hawkeye. Don't make us wait any longer," Neinheart snapped. The more he had to 'hang' with his fellow Alliance members the less time he could work on papers. As much as he obliged to Cygnus's requests, this one was too much!

"Well since I can't use the paper, I'm just gonna try my best!" he breathed in and exhaled, "cheerfulCygnusmeekMihileoutg oingOzvillainousValforcrazyK aiserallusiveAngelicBusterki llerKimmanhunterMercedesperv ertedPhantombarbaricBelleevo lvingEvanlittleasskickingpsy choLukaeagertoscaretheshitou tofpeopleEckhartloonyLumitry butfailseverysingletimeTinas toicmotherfuckerAraninsaneIr ene, and hot Hawkeye!"

The area was then in silence. The circle of allies stared in confusion. It took exactly three seconds to process the information. The first person to respond was the Dual Blader, surprisingly.

"I don't even think any of them were right," Kim informed.

"Of course not! He just made everything on top of his thick skull!" stated Mercedes with a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Yea and you totally called some of us really rude things. You have something against archers?" Belle hissed. Black Jack was growling at Hawkeye as well.

"Not in particular, though most girl archers I've met are completely ballistic-" Hawkeye leapt out of his chair as several arrows whizzed past him. Neinheart coughed, silencing the Thunder Breaker and archer duo.

"It doesn't matter," he said, "I have a high suspicion on who the culprits might be."

He examined the paper from Evan.

"The only time all Alliance members were fully present was last night, during Empress Cygnus' inauguration party. There are two people in this area that haven't switched bodies and were there yesterday. That is Mercedes and Phantom."

"You're not suggesting…" Mihile asked, glancing over at the thief and royal archer. Phantom smirked in amusement. He liked where this was going. He couldn't wait to see Mercedes reaction. As foreseen by the hero, the queen of elves was confounded at the accusation. She opened and closed her mouth several times. Her face was drained of color.

"Oi! Why did you do it? Answer to the mighty Kaiser this instant!" Kyle demanded. Angel Buster face palmed, restraining her friend's cloak to keep him from mauling the two a second time.

"It wasn't me; I swear on my title as queen, and please be more wary of Phantom. He's been smirking the entirety of this game!"

"Isn't that Phantom's default face though?" Luminous commentated off handedly. Tin snorted, him and his monkey giving the light mage a thumbs up.

"If my smirk is a default, then yours must be that retched grimace you carry. Didn't your mother ever tell you to stop making such a hideous expression? It's going to get stuck. Oh wait, too late," Phantom snarked back, smirk loosening up to a condescending grin. An echo of 'ooooooo' resounded through the forest. Neinheart, in a subconscious fury, tore the paper in half. He quickly gestured Mihile to carry Cygnus to Shinsoo as Hawkeye and Tin were quietly chanting fight.

"Enough!" the advisor bellowed just as Luminous was about to sick Mir on the thief, "Phantom if you have ANY idea who the culprit could be, that would be most helpful."

The blond glimpsed at the man, his lips curving upward once more, "What makes you think I'll tell?"

Neinheart pushed his monocle up. There was a dangerous glint in his feral eyes.

"I can blame you for this little incident and you'll have to spend the rest of January and February facing adventurers off for the Class Warfare competition. _Alone. _"

The thief's almost vanished. He quickly regained his composure and stared Neinheart dead in the eye.

"Unfortunately I do not know who they are, but I have a theory of how everyone changed."


End file.
